4 Reasons the United States Should Tie Egypt’s Aid To Human Rights

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On Wednesday, the United States suspended a large part of the $1.3 billion in aid that it gives to Egypt, months after political turmoil following the July ouster of President Mohammed Morsi by the army. The delivery of Apache helicopters, Harpoon missiles and tank parts has been halted as has a $260 million cash transfer and a $300 million loan guarantee.

In response, the Egyptian foreign ministry criticized the United State’s decision and say that the country is “continuing on its path towards democracy.” Israel has also expressed concern about the United States cutting off aid, which is seen as necessary for maintaining stability in the region. The United States is insisting that its withdrawal of aid is temporary and, as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry states, not by any means a “withdrawal from our relationship.” Restoration of the aid is tied to “credible progress toward an inclusive, democratically elected civilian government through free and fair elections,” as state department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.

The New York-based organization Human Rights First says that the United States must clarify the conditions under which it will restore aid to Egypt. “Security and stability” will only be restored. if, says Human Rights First‘s Neil Hicks, there is “respect for the rule of law and protection for the basic rights and freedoms of all Egyptians, especially for vulnerable religious minority groups, who have increasingly come under attack [as] the political conflict has intensified.”

The following are only some instances of human rights abuses that have recently occurred in Egypt.

1. Detainment of Canadian Citizens For Seven Weeks

Two Canadian citizens, Dr. Tarek Loubani and filmmaker John Greyson, were arrested in Cairo while en route to the Gaza Strip, where Dr. Loubani was to provide medical training for Palestinian doctors; Greyson was planning to make a documentary about their journey. After being arrested on August 16, they were beaten and held in Cairo’s Tora prison and their detainment extended a number of times.

Bessma Momani of the University of Waterloo politics department tells the Toronto Star that Loubani and Greyson are now in a “typically Egyptian nightmare” that is “what most Egyptians have to face on a daily basis. Things never move smoothly, and there’s no real due process.”

2. Attacks on Churches and Christian Institutions

In the past few months, mass attacks on churches and Christian property that have left at least four dead have occurred across Egypt. The Egyptian government needs to investigate why security forces have appeared to be absent during these attacks, in which mobs have looted and set fire to churches and other Christian insitutions, according to Human Rights Watch.

3. Attacks On and Arrests of Journalists

Since the military came into power, journalists have been “paying a considerable toll,” writes Sherif Mansour of the Committee to Protect Journalists. At least five have been killed, 30 have been assaulted, 11 news outlets have been raided and 44 have been detained; at least five journalists are still imprisoned. Many worked for independent organizations, outlets that criticized the ouster of Morsi or foreign outlets such as Al-Jazeera or Turkish channels.

More than 100 refugees are currently being held in police stations in cities including Alexandria before they are deported. Conditions in Egypt’s detention centers are said to be “very bad.” Many of the refugees detained in Alexandria’s Montaza II police station are children, Laura Dean writes in the London Review of Books:

In the Montaza police station, the children can hear suspects being tortured on the floors below. Food is usually provided once a day by Caritas, but sometimes doesn’t come at all. Refugees are often not allowed to use the bathroom. … Several people report one of the policemen saying to them: “You are trash, so we have to treat you like you’re trash.”

While the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees provides assistance, including free healthcare to Syrians who have fled the civil war, Egyptian authorities are not allowing the agency to assist Palestinian refugees.

The United States government and its people should be the last ones to talk about human rights abuse. They need to take a close look in their own backyard of the continuous examples the rest of us see them committing they could start with thier laws for example and how they treat visitors to America under the myth of terrorist hiding in the tourists bags or heaven forbid going to try and fly a plane into a building like the lies of 9/11. Its just good ol fear mongering just to keep the sheeples under control and enslaved just so the banksters can eat their cake as well as keep it.

Aid should be tied to humanitarian rights not corporate interests. Our aid benefits US businesses. That is its sole intention. Any food for the poor or other assistance is really secondary in the eyes of the government.

Remember, we are the same country that supported a dictator in this country for over 3 decades. Our government only cares about democracy when others are trying to impose anything on the US. They could care less if there is democracy for anyone else.